The Five Golden Points

To live a life which seems far beyond your means, I find it is best to stick to the following areas.

The Home
Food
Entertaining
Gifts
Well Being

The home, to me, is the most important and most effective way of feeling as though you have more. A beautifully decorated home is relaxing, and makes you feel proud everytime you look at it. It gives guests a welcome atmosphere and they are likely to compliment it - especially if they are in a similar situation to yourself (job wise, a student etc).

The main excuses people tend to use for not having their homes looking beautiful are:
Not got enough money
I'm renting so can't do anything

I rent. I have so far lived in 3 rented properties and I have always managed to make the place beautiful.

I don't have a lot of money either - especially when I was a student - but I will show you ways to make a home homely without spending a small fortune.

Food is also something I find quite important. Good food makes us feel good. There is nothing satisfying about eating a ready meal or beans on toast, and learning how to make easy but impressive meals for yourself and your family is just giving you extra training for when you have dinner guests. It is also impressive to have a little bit extra in the cupboard just in case guests ever appear.

Entertaining, for me, is one of the top ways to give a good impression. Beautiful serving wear, bottles of wine on hand, snacks and a good atmosphere are the best way to make a guest feel comfortable and appreciate the warmth of your home. I find that having a home where people feel comfortable makes me feel happier, too.

Gifts don't have to be expensive - just thoughtful. And cheap homemade gifts say much more than '3 for 2 at Boots' gift sets without giving the impression that a cheap present was bought because that's exactly all it was - cheap.

And finally, if you can't convince yourself that you're better than your paycheck - who can you convince?! Pick-me-up treats and a positive attitude are all you need to show yourself that money is not the be all and end all - and that you can certainly live a glamourous, enviable life without having a bank manager as your best friend.